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Ugandan LRA fighter denies atrocity charges, says he was victim
Source: Reuters
WORLD NEWS | Tue Dec 6, 2016 | 7:00am EST
Ugandan LRA fighter denies atrocity charges, says he was victim
By Thomas Escritt | THE HAGUE
A Ugandan man accused of being a senior commander in the infamous Lord's Resistance Army pleaded not guilty to murder, rape and other charges on Tuesday, telling the International Criminal Court he had been a victim of the guerrilla group.
Dominic Ongwen, who says he was abducted as a teenager and pressed into service in the late 1980s, faces 70 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity linked to attacks on refugee camps in northern Uganda.
"In the name of God, I deny all the charges in respect to the war in northern Uganda," he told the first trial at the Hague-based tribunal linked to LRA atrocities.
"It was the LRA who abducted and killed people in northern Uganda, and I am one of the people against whom the LRA committed atrocities," he said in his native Acholi, speaking through a translator.
Dressed in a sober suit, Ongwen appeared unsure of his surroundings. Asked to stand by judges, he rose only after the guards surrounding him interpreted the order with hand gestures.
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Ugandan LRA fighter denies atrocity charges, says he was victim
By Thomas Escritt | THE HAGUE
A Ugandan man accused of being a senior commander in the infamous Lord's Resistance Army pleaded not guilty to murder, rape and other charges on Tuesday, telling the International Criminal Court he had been a victim of the guerrilla group.
Dominic Ongwen, who says he was abducted as a teenager and pressed into service in the late 1980s, faces 70 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity linked to attacks on refugee camps in northern Uganda.
"In the name of God, I deny all the charges in respect to the war in northern Uganda," he told the first trial at the Hague-based tribunal linked to LRA atrocities.
"It was the LRA who abducted and killed people in northern Uganda, and I am one of the people against whom the LRA committed atrocities," he said in his native Acholi, speaking through a translator.
Dressed in a sober suit, Ongwen appeared unsure of his surroundings. Asked to stand by judges, he rose only after the guards surrounding him interpreted the order with hand gestures.
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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-warcrimes-uganda-idUSKBN13V1CD
